Orange County SPCA works to help animals and their owners

Feb. 18, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Duranne Mungall holds her 17-month-old cat, Prince, whose bladder infection treatment was paid for with help from the O.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Prince, a cat owned by Duranne Mungall of Costa Mesa, had his bladder infection treatment paid for with help from the O.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Prince has had to spend the last 10 days inside the house as part of his recovery. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Prince, a cat owned by Duranne Mungall of Costa Mesa, had his bladder infection treatment paid for with help from the O.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Prince has had to spend the last 10 days inside the house as part of his recovery. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Duranne Mungall, left, holds her cat, Prince, as son River plays with him outside their Costa Mesa home. Prince's recent bladder infection treatment was paid for with help from the O.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Duranne Mungall holds her 17-month-old cat, Prince, whose bladder infection treatment was paid for with help from the O.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Duranne Mungall holds her 17-month-old cat, Prince, whose bladder infection treatment was paid for with help from the O.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Golden Envelope

The Orange County Register's gift cheque program is a $12.4million investment plan launched by the paper in November.

The paper sent 124,000 seven-day Register subscribers "golden envelopes" containing a $100 cheque. Subscribers then designated a 501(c)3 charitable program in Orange County as the beneficiary.

More than 1,300 charities will receive free advertising in the Register or any of its weekly or biweekly community newspapers under the program, which can be used to promote their missions and fundraising efforts.

Orange County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Total revenue: $129,081

Total expenses: $169,316

Program spending: $138,694

Management spending: $24,941

Fundraising spending: $5,680

Net fund balances: $686,471

Sources: Orange County SPCA 990 forms for 2012

The Orange County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals helps pets of all shapes and sizes.

Because the organization doesn't support an animal shelter, it is able to help more than a few dozen animals at a time. By the end of 2012, the organization had helped roughly 4,103 pets.

In Orange County, 75 percent of cats and half of dogs in shelters are euthanized. OCSPCA aims to keep each pet in its own home.

The charity's success with animals is the reason Orange County Register subscribers earmarked $131,700 in advertising to OCSPCA through the newspaper's Golden Envelope voucher program.

Donna Calkin, volunteer president, helped co-found the Orange County association in the 1980s and has been with the organization since.

"We keep animals in their homes," Calkin said. "We don't have the high shelter expenses so we're able to help more animals in different ways."

As part of its Animal Rescue Fund, the association gives roughly 200 spay/neuter vouchers per month to pet owners to control animal reproduction. In six years' time, one nonspayed female dog and her offspring can have 67,000 pups, according to the group's website. And one nonspayed female cat and her kittens can have up to 370,000 kittens.

"To us that number is huge," Calkin said. "And it's such an easy fix. It's a big focus for us. We think keeping that number down is important."

The Rescue Fund also helps up to 20 pet owners a month with emergency veterinary care.

Prince, a 17-month old calico-mix kitten from Costa Mesa, is one of the many pets being helped by the charity. Duranne Mungall says her cat was diagnosed with a severe bladder infection, costing between $800 and $1,000 in treatment and veterinary bills.

"I looked at him and started to tear up and quietly said I could not pay that," said Mungall, who has four children. "I don't have money like that."

After negotiating with the clinic and receiving financial assistance from Red Rover Relief, another organization that helps pet owners in need, the bill was brought down to $300 – but still more than the Mungall family could afford.

It was then that the clinic told Mungall about OCSPCA. She contacted the charity and told them of Prince's life-threatening bladder condition.

"The next morning I got an email from OCSPCA saying Prince was approved for a $100 donation! I cried again. I was very humbled and grateful."

The charity provides other programs such as Orange County Cares About Cats, which focuses on providing spay and neuter support for people working with feral cats in Orange County.

The Animal Cruelty Intervention program offers rewards for the arrest of animal abusers, provides counseling on animal abuse and neglect, and provides temporary housing for animals. OCSPCA's No Empty Bowls program provides food to low-income or homeless pet owners.

Pets Are Wonderful Support is an award-winning pet therapy program. Trained members of P.A.W.S. volunteer in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted-living homes, adult day care centers and children's homes.

The Humane Education Program that oversees OCSPCA's Kindness Kids program and Canine Literacy Project is aimed at child development.

Kindness Kids lets pet teams visit classrooms to teach the values of kindness and compassion. The Canine Literacy Project pairs children who have reading difficulties with a therapy dog, so the kids can read aloud in a nonjudgmental environment.

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